Strides attended, for the 6th time, the 13th Annual Tri Valley Special Olympics Horse Show on September 17, 2006. It was a glorious day, and our riders performed just as gloriously. We had a wonderful time at the horse show. Our riders were outstanding! Here are the results:
English Equitation:
Cole Massie 1st place
Trey Spiva 2nd place
Katy Tennesen 1st place
Laura Bibb 1st place
Ellen Stohl 2nd place
Sam Vincent 1st place
Ari Seid 2nd place
How's that for a winning team?
Trail (We call it Obstacle Course):
Cole Massie 2nd place
Ari Seid 2nd place
Trey Spiva 2nd place
Katy Tennesen 1st place
Laura Bibb 4th place (Laura was accidently placed in a higher class,so this was actually a pretty good score)
Ellen Stohl 3rd place
Sam Vincent 3rd place
We want to point out some awesome things our riders did. Trey, who had a "meltdown" last year, was mature and self-possessed this year. Sam had to ride a horse he had only ridden once before, and handled it beautifully, even though a cheerleading team was practicing throwing people in the air right next to the arena, spooking his horse. Cole sat a "bucking bronco" when Chiquita decided she was freaked out at something or other. Instead of getting scared, he was laughing all the way. Laura sat a really bad spook like she was glued to the saddle, earning applause from the audience. Way to go,Laura! The judge pointed out to me how much both Ellen and Katy had improved since last year (Katy took 2 1st place ribbons this year!). He was very impressed.
Our thanks to our wonderful team of volunteers. Our team leaders did an exceptional job, and the sidewalkers were on the ball for all the spooks we had to deal with. They made sure no one even came close to falling. Carol Shibel deserves extra credit for getting our horses tacked up and ready on time for every class. We were the most organized we have ever been, and I have to give the parents part of the credit for that, as they followed directions to a T. And let's not forget our very special horses, Sable, Patch, Chiquita and Teller.
To view the album of photos from the show, click on the link below, or copy and paste it into your browser:
http://picasaweb.google.com/noraatstrides
